For the Record (5)

November 28, 1980

With stony composure, Mao Tse-tung's widow, Jiang Qing, took the stand and staved off prosecution attempts to make her confess to high treason. She alternately smiled at her accusers and looked bored, only once betraying a flash of anger, when a fellow "gang of four" member, Wang Hongwen, testified against her. It was his testimony that apparently led the court to say it had sufficient evidence to convict Miss Jiang of crimes carrying the death penalty.